


This Side of Paradise

by PyremLuvian



Category: Original Work
Genre: ALL THE GAY, Betrayal, Eventual Smut, Fantasy, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Forbidden Love, Gods and Godesses, M/M, Multi, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Plotting, Polyamory, Slow Burn, Supernatural Abilties, Training Montages, medieval era
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-13
Updated: 2017-05-02
Packaged: 2018-10-18 11:46:29
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10616265
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PyremLuvian/pseuds/PyremLuvian
Summary: (Summary may Change. Idk what I'm doing.)There's lots of love sick bastards so it reads like an angsty romance novel for the first bit. There are gay and poly relationships so if you're not into that get out and educate yourself.This is an original fic about two main relationships, one being a very slow burn and the other an already established relationship.Nejål is a blessed bean who gets wrapped up in the kings motherfuckin' business, and falls for the bastard. Seriously though,   the king and him fall for each other and there's lots of drama and pining and reunions evolving those two and it's beautiful. Not to mention the palace drama and theotherthree lovesick, wholesome babies (my children).(It actually gets quite serious at times, don't trust the summary.)





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> The title "This Side of Paradise" is a song by Hayley Kiyoko so I take no credit for it.

"Kill him." The final command. It echoed around the silent room, reaching all of it's thousands of occupants, "He deserves not our mercy." Thus my fate was sealed, to be killed as the second sun rose over the hills surrounding our city. The crowd remained silent, though the air had changed from one of suspense to that of excitement; excitement for blood to be spilled. Oh how the roiling masses love an execution.

"I have done nothing wrong!" I called from my place chained to the floor.

"You have committed adultery, and betrayed our king!" The judge called from his stand at the back of the cave, his seat carved into the rock wall itself.

"And will he be tried?! Will he be brought in front of a jury and sentenced to death?!" I paused and to glare out at the the gawking spectators. All of them were well aware of the fact that I was not allowed to speak after my trial was completed, "No! He will reign on, the bastard king who will continue to cause more and more of his people's deaths because of his insatiable appetite!" I lifted myself onto my feet, glaring at the judge, and rushed forward till my chains stopped me, "I am stronger than any before me! Stronger than Jacqueline, the woman who first tamed the Nazreth." I strained against my shackles knowing full well that they cannot be broken, "I am stronger than King Kuralin who fought on the front lines to save his lover from the invaders!" I heard the stone begin to crack behind me from the strain, "And," The plate that secured my chains was ripped from the ground, eliciting gasps and a few screams from the crowd, "I am much stronger than you, your Honor."

* * *

Damn him. Damn him to hell, that man that calls himself “King”. He deserves not the title or the privileges that come with it. He deserves not the love of his people. I should be in the palace, lounging or signing documents the king had assigned me because he was to busy with some debutante or servant that he'd taken an interest in. I should not be running into the forest with chains around my arms and blood on my face, having chosen to escape while I still could after ending the corrupt judge.

“ _ You should know better than to run little one.” _ I froze and spun, looking for the owner of the voice that held such force, “ _ You seduced the king and forced him to commit adultery,” _ I started running again, trying desperately to escape my pursuer, _ “then you killed the judge at you trial.” _ I ran blindly through the trees, jumping over obstacles and crying at the pain that ripped through my head, “ _ Or at least that’s what the masses say. _ ” Tears streamed down my face, but I didn’t stop running. I had to get away from it all, from the king- no, from  _ my _ king. I don’t care what I said before he was  _ my _ king and no one else's.

“Silence!” I yelled out to the forest hoping the voice would hear me. I still cried and sobbed, but it wasn’t from pain now. Now it was because my king betrayed  _ me _ , I told him of all my transgressions and let slip all my secrets….and he had me arrested and sentenced to death, “You can do nothing to me! I am blessed by the goddess!” I lied to both myself and the mysterious voice when I spoke. I  _ was _ blessed by our goddess once but I feel only cursed now, for I still love my king and wished desperately to return to him.

“ _ Maybe the masses lied though. Perhaps you and the king’s relationship could’ve survived if it wasn’t for his mother.” _ I faltered, tripping over my own feet at the voice’s words. Perhaps?

“W-what did you just say?! I- his mother died when he was young, what could she have to do with this?” I stopped now, looking around desperately to try and find the voice that called through the forest to me.

“ _ Oh, is that what they told you? Ha! Of course they never would let slip the fact that our beloved queen has gone mad.” _ Another sharp pain ripped through my head and caused me to double over. I closed my eyes and clutched my head in my hands, trying to keep the contents of my stomach from ending up on the forest floor.

“ _ Yes and even though she’s gone completely ‘round the bend the court still listens to her and her son: our king,”  _ I growled at his claim of my king, the anger ebbing the pain at least a little, “ _ Pardon,  _ your _ king, has been trapped in the castle by her for years never being allowed to go to the aid of those he cares about. Though, those he truly cares for are the only ones who end up in danger. It is why he rarely chooses to lay with the same person more than once.” _ He seemed to be rambling at this point, but I still couldn’t figure out where the sound was coming from. It seemed to be from all around me, an ever present voice that wouldn’t leave me alone.

“Why hasn’t he had her locked up then?” I said through teeth gritted in pain, “If- if she has gone mad th-then she should be in an asylum. N-not allowed to r-roam the c-castle as she pleases.” The pain suddenly left, taking my air with it and leaving me gasping and retching.

“She’s not, but she has her people spread all throughout the castle to fool your king into staying. More than likely he thinks you quit and left him for whatever reason they came up with.” Now the voice was clearly coming from behind me so I spun around and stared at the man standing before me.  _ My _ king. I opened my mouth to say something but nothing came out, my vision was going black and I was falling to the ground soundlessly. The last thing I saw was my king kneeling beside me and wrapping me in his arms.


	2. Chapter 2

I awoke to ice cold water being thrown on me by a currently indiscernible source and raucous laughter echoing around whatever space I was in. I wiped the water from my eyes and blinked the blur of sleep that remained to impair me from my eyes. For a blissful moment I forgot the events that had lead to my current state and believed perhaps one of the servants thought it would be funny to wake me in such a manner.

 

“What on earth do you-” And then all the memories started coming back to me, cutting me off mid sentence. They were fragmented and confusing, but still present enough to remind me of yesterday. The emotions that came were sudden and seemed to be amplified tenfold, worse when I thought of how I must’ve imagined my King coming to rescue me. Tears threatened to fall and reduce me to a weeping mess but- even though I wish I could just lie back down and wallow in self pity- I held them back.

 

I looked around at my surroundings in favor of letting myself cry, I would not let myself fall down that pit at this moment. It was immediately obvious that someone _had_ in fact carried me as I wasn’t in the forest anymore; I was in a small room painted a pastel yellow with white trim- simple, but elegant and homey in its own right. I had been sprawled across a small, straw bed with a large, white blanket and copious amounts of plush pillows resting against the headboard. The room itself was rather bare; to my right there was a chest and small couch with a few decorative throw pillows and a dark wood table for breakfast, and to my left, just another large chest and a window that let in the sunlight.

 

“Good morning Blessed One.” A small voice spoke up to the right of me by the dark wood table, it was light, pleasant, but startling all the same. When I jumped and turned to face them I saw the voice came from a...creature? The small being with large black eyes and mint coloured hair- made into a braid with small flowers woven into it- placed a tray on the table filled with food and a holding a ceramic pitcher. They- the creature- were almost completely covered in beautiful, light blue silks with only their oval eyes and braid visible above a veil, “I must apologize for my Master’s behaviour, she is an impatient lady, unfortunately, and could not be asked to wait any longer.” Their arms- which were folded in front of them under their silks save for a few inches- looked more like oak branches that ended in round points.

 

“Where am I?” I asked, my voice hoarse and painful; it felt like I hadn’t spoken in days or weeks even. The creature brought a cup of water to me quickly, somehow managing to balance it on her two, long arms without spilling a drop. I drank in deep gulps, only now realizing how thirsty and hungry I was.

 

“You are in the palace of my Master.” She said, tilting her head and squinting her eyes in what I presume was a smile revealing her eyelids were the same colour and texture as her arms. She looked to be made of wood.

 

“And who, might I ask, is your Master?” I asked as I finished off the glass and gave it back to the creature, “And, if you’ll permit me?” She nodded in affirmation, “What and who are you?” She smiled again and moved her “hands” to the veil on her face. She pinched it between the ends and pulled it loose, revealing the lower half of their face- a face that seemed to blend from light wood to pale skin and thin lips. At first glance you might convince yourself it was just a mask, but the way the wood slowly changed to skin below their nose with no disconnect, it was obvious that it wasn’t.

 

“My name is Lilya; I’m what some would refer to as a dryad: a spirit of the forest.”

 

“ _And I am The Goddess, Lilya’s master_.” A deep voice echoed throughout the small room without a source, the volume and power of it making me jump and nearly fall out of the bed.

 

“Wha- How- You haven’t shown yourself to a mortal in centuries-” I quickly realized that I was talking to _The Goddess_ and should be bowing to her, “I apologize for my outburst,” I said while getting out of the bed and taking a knee, “please forgive me.” Now I was terrified, the goddess was not known to forgive rudeness and ego without serious acts of humility. According to one myth she once turned someone into a sentient statue for eternity because he demanded immortality; he went to her gates and broke them down after she refused- in an attempt to try and force her to grant his wish; and so she did, in a very twisted way.

 

“ _Why do you cower Blessed One? What are you afraid of?_ ” Her voice, though deep and powerful was inherently calming and sounded somewhat...familiar?

 

“If you would permit me?” I awaited a response but one did not come, in the next second I felt a hand on my shoulder, drawing my attention upward.

 

“You need not ask for permission, I view all of my creations as equal to me- greater even in the fact that your physical forms and souls are so much stronger.” I lifted my head to look and stood when I realized where I’d heard her voice before; speechless, I continued to listen to my old mentor’s speech, “I’ve seen men and women alike consume such poisons as opium and fermented wheat for the sake of “fun”, such things I will never experience due to my fragility.” She laughed and took my hands in her’s, “Why else do you think I was always acting like a proper lunatic whenever someone new entered the shop?”

 

“Wh-why didn’t you ever tell me?!” I wrenched my hands from her grip and shoved past her, far past furious, “You “blessed” me and ruined my life!” I yelled. I started to pace from wall to wall in the room to try and level my anger, tempted just to leave through the single door across from the window, but I wasn’t done with her just yet, “I could’ve lived a somewhat normal life if it wasn’t for you and your “gift”! I wouldn’t be forbidden from seeing my family if it wasn’t for you! For Goddess’s sake, I could’ve completely avoided this whole mess if I never had these...accursed abilities!” I spun to face her, exasperated that she, our Goddess, could be so selfish. She had to have known the laws of our country; if someone is blessed by the goddess they are automatically taken to the palace and trained to use their abilities for the good of the people. I was gifted with the ability to summon plant life and was thus given the job as the court herbalist and medical officer. It’s how I was able to escape my chains and kill the judge. The image of a white chrysanthemum erupting from the Judge’s chest will probably never cease to haunt me.

 

“I couldn’t just reveal myself to you-”

 

“Is that not what you’re doing right now!? Why now and not then? You saw- You watched as I was torn from my family, “to serve my king and country” they said! You did nothing to stop them! I told you how important my family is to me, but you wanted something different. You decided to bless me- a naive youth- and completely isolate me from society!” I turned back around, throwing my hands up in annoyance, and continued pacing. I hadn’t seen my parents in over five years because of my training and job at the castle, and it was all my old employer’s fault.

 

When I was initially taken to the castle I was excited, but homesick. I would ask when I would be allowed to see my parents again. My teachers and guards always said that I was free to visit them anytime I wanted after my training, but the second it finally was finished, I was assigned a job and forced to stay in the castle to start my training for _that_ . After all my training was complete it had already been three years and I was already falling for our king, but I still yearned for my family. So I did my first assignment and started planning a trip. However, in the eleven months following, the new king- _my_ king- succeeded in causing riots in the streets by rejecting a marriage proposal from an allied country. Everyone, including myself, was terrified that it would cause a war, so I canceled my plans and expected the worst with the rest of the country. I wasted time and waited in tense anguish for what the entire kingdom believed was sure to happen, but never would

 

Then the worst happened; I fell for the king and he took an interest in me. Of course I didn’t allow him to bed me as soon as he pleased. “I’m not just some toy for him to use once and then throw away” I used to say to the servants that asked me about my apprehension to the idea. He ended up inviting me to a few banquets and allowed me to sit with him during dinners before he officially started courting me behind  Parliament's back. We were together for about thirteen months before….well, before all this happened. Thirteen blissful months before everything went to the second layer of Coswolaeth*.

 

I have not seen my family since I was 14, though it feels like it’s been forever. I can’t even remember what they look like anymore….

 

“...I’m sorry. I didn’t know about the queen; if I had known I would have done something. I-”

 

“So why didn’t you when you did find out? I should be in bed with my king, resting in preparation for a long day of helping him run the fucking country!”

 

“...Why do you call him that?” Was all she said. No reaction or answer to my outbursts, just a question of my mannerisms.

 

“Call him what?” I knew what she was asking, it was kind of hard to miss, but I wasn’t in the mood to be compliant.

 

“You call him _your_ king rather than _our_ king, or even _the_ king. Why?” She took a few steps toward where I stood, leaning against the wall by the window. I couldn’t help but look away as the memories of some of our first nights of just lying together surfaced.

 

“...he kept our relationship a secret for thirteen months, I didn’t want to lie anymore, but I didn’t want to anger him too much. It’s not important.” I lied, desperately trying to keep any memories brought up out of my mind’s eye. I couldn’t deal with them right now; my king deserves not to be remembered in fond memories, but in the final bitter memory I have of his inaction. However that memory is blurred and stands as a weak defense for the first memories of him courting me properly.

* * *

 

“What would you do if the world was to end tomorrow?” I furrowed my eyebrows, but kept my eyes closed so I wouldn’t be tempted to stay up too much later by the king.

 

“I swear to the Goddess- go to sleep, your majesty. We have a long day ahead of us.” I murmured back, trying to avoid thinking about the somewhat existential question.

 

“Come on.” I felt him prop himself up behind me, removing his arm from around my waist, before continuing, “Just answer this question for me and I’ll go to bed, alright?” I rolled my eyes, but turned over to face him and opened my eyes to glare at his annoyingly handsome self.

 

“If the world was ending tomorrow, I’d go see my parents again. I’d tell them that I fell in love with our king-” His expression changed from one of amusement to one of irritation in the moonlight pouring in from the open balcony, “What? Do you not want me to tell them? Not even if the world was ending?”

 

“No, I just-...don’t say that.” He said, turning is head to look away from me. His reaction made me worry. I thought that maybe he didn’t want me to say that I loved him, which in turn made me upset as it brought the thought that he didn’t feel the same way.

 

“Oh...sorry...I just thought-…sorry.” I curled in on myself a bit and backed away from him. Who would’ve though the first time I told the king I loved him it would be by accident, and then I would be rejected. I was content just to lay there and wait for him to fall asleep so I could leave, just like every other servant he’s taken an interest in, but the hand on my cheek made that resolution a bit difficult.

 

“I’d rather you call me your king, my love.” I looked up at him again feeling all to vulnerable under his direct gaze.

 

“ _My_ king.” I let the words fall off my tongue and smiled despite myself, moving closer and letting him hug me to him before falling asleep. The following days were filled with me engraving the phrase into my mind and desk and watching _my_ king smile and kiss me every time I said it.

* * *

 

And just as quickly as the memory began, it faded and left me with hot, angry tears running down my face and an aching pain in my chest that I tried to ignore. I didn’t try to stop them from falling though, for I was mourning my perfect- if not unorthodox- life.

 

“Though I suppose it doesn’t really matter anymore, for the queen may have ordered for my execution…  but it was the king who didn’t _care_ enough to go after me when I was pulled from his bed and imprisoned.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Coswolaeth: the realm of punishment in this world's mythology with two layers, the second one being solely for the worst of humanity.

**Author's Note:**

> Big thanks to beta reader, Auden, who doesn't have an account on here unfortunately but still was a lot of help (honestly it was a mess) and please comment it's always much appreciated even if it's just a simple little thing.  
> I'm gonna try and update this once a week or twice a week feel free to hold me to it if that doesn't happen. Thanks for reading darlings!


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